If you're reading this column right now, the title "The Sociology of Emotions" may surprise you.Psychology is the study that deals with emotions, why sociology?
These questions seem reasonable, but in fact, the emotions of each person are deeply related to society.
unspoken rules about emotions
First and foremost, it is evidenced by the unspoken rules surrounding emotions in various aspects of society.For example, in addition to feeling sad at a funeral,You have to feel sad.
If you don't feel sad at the funeral, you will surely be confused by yourself who doesn't feel sad.Also, if people find out that you don't feel sad, you'll be accused of being heartless.It doesn't mean that it can't be helped because it doesn't make you feel good.
emotions and gender
Also, there must be some men who, when they cried during their childhood, were told, "You're a boy, so bear with me."This shows that there is an unspoken rule that ``Men should be strong, so don't show emotions that lead to weakness.''
Women, on the contrary, tend to be favorably received when they express their feelings, whether positive or negative.However, as a result, in meetings, women tend to be ignored because they are emotional, and they tend to be forced into childcare and nursing care, which require empathy and consideration.
By paying attention to these unspoken rules regarding emotions, we can get a glimpse of a part of Japanese society's view of gender.
how to understand emotions
Furthermore, even how we perceive our emotions is dictated by social norms.For example, the “love” you have for your seniors at school and the “admiration” you have for TV celebrities seem to be similar in that both feel a thrill in your heart.So how are these two different?
When I ask students this question, they often reply, "Is there a possibility of dating?"However, if that is the case, when we feel the excitement in our hearts, we unconsciously take into consideration the social constraint that we cannot even meet celebrities, and call it 'admiration'. You have interpreted it as
So even when we understand our emotions, we unconsciously refer to social constraints.
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In this way, there are actually various unspoken rules shared by society and social rules regarding emotions, such as what emotions should be felt, how emotions should be expressed, and how emotions should be understood. There are restrictions.
The personal thing called "my feelings" and the social thing called "the unspoken rules of the world".The idea of connecting the seemingly unrelated two is the sociological perspective and the heart of the sociological imagination.
